Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 81: Why Does She Have So Much To Say?

　　“Lin Qingyan, what are you doing?”

　　An Jiu walked through the corridor and looked at the young girl in a green dress sitting at the table in the pavilion, holding a brush in her hand.

　　By now, they had already left Wuyi Mountain and rented a house in a nearby town. The three of them were living together.

　　The three were, of course, An Jiu, Lin Qingyan, and He Ziqing. As for Fei Chen, after they left the mountain, he officially bid farewell to An Jiu.

　　Since he had already delivered An Jiu safely, he had to go take care of his own matters.

　　“Oh, it’s you, An Jiu…” Lin Qingyan turned her head sluggishly.

　　Ever since He Ziqing sent his challenge to You Qianhe, she had been like this—no energy to do anything.

　　An Jiu naturally understood. Lin Qingyan was worried about He Ziqing’s safety.

　　Back then, she had no idea the person He Ziqing wanted to challenge was You Qianhe.

　　That’s a legendary Sword Saint. Even though he had been hidden away from the world for many years, his martial arts were already at the peak. There was no way a rookie like He Ziqing could compare.

　　Besides, You Qianhe already said it himself. Once he drew his sword, someone would definitely die.

　　How old was He Ziqing? How could he possibly stand against someone who had been immersed in the sword for decades?

　　There was almost a one hundred percent chance he would die in this fight.

　　Lin Qingyan was terrified. She had tried to talk He Ziqing out of it, but he cut her off after just a few words and firmly said his mind was made up. No matter what, he would face You Qianhe.

　　He had really made up his mind. There was nothing Lin Qingyan could do.

　　The closer the fight got, the more anxious she became. She couldn’t even sleep at night anymore. Dark circles hung under her once beautiful eyes, making her look even more exhausted.

　　“I was thinking of sending a letter to Pei Ji, asking him to come over… He’s good at medicine, so if anything happens, he can help right away…” Lin Qingyan mumbled.

　　It was clear she had already prepared herself for He Ziqing’s possible defeat.

　　Maybe… she was even preparing for the possibility of his death.

　　Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, An Jiu let out a soft sigh and tried to comfort her. “Don’t worry. No one can predict the future. Maybe Brother He will win.”

　　Lin Qingyan bit her lip and shook her head. She didn’t argue, but her expression showed she didn’t really believe that.

　　She still planned to write to Pei Ji. Even though he had just gone home, in her panic, the first person she thought of was still him.

　　In her heart, Pei Ji had always been like a big brother from next door who looked after her. Every time she was in trouble, she would instinctively turn to him for help.

　　But when she looked up at An Jiu, her feelings became a little complicated.

　　She forced a small smile and said, “An Jiu, do you want to write a letter to Pei Ji too? We can send them together.”

　　Although Pei Ji still treated her kindly as usual, Lin Qingyan had noticed that ever since An Jiu appeared, his attention toward her was no longer quite the same as before.

　　Whether the two of them were actually together or not, Lin Qingyan didn’t know.

　　She just thought that if she sent the letter alone, Pei Ji might not come. But if An Jiu also sent one, maybe Pei Ji would be more likely to agree to come.

　　After feeling vaguely neglected before, Lin Qingyan was no longer sure how much she still meant to Pei Ji.

　　She had clearly noticed how much Pei Ji valued An Jiu.

　　An Jiu didn’t seem to notice what was on her mind. She smiled brightly and nodded, “Sure.”

　　After that, she sat down, ground the ink, picked up the brush, and started writing.

　　Once she started writing, she wrote for a long time. Lin Qingyan sat nearby and watched. She couldn’t help noticing how long the letter was. An Jiu wrote page after page, filling both the front and back of each sheet.

　　Finally, the girl put down her brush. When she met Lin Qingyan’s shocked gaze, she smiled a little awkwardly and handed over the letter. “I’m done. Let’s send them together.”

　　Lin Qingyan quickly gathered both letters. Even though she was dying of curiosity, she didn’t peek.

　　She couldn’t help but sigh in her heart. An Jiu and Pei Ji must have a really close relationship.

　　Thinking of this, she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “An Jiu, why didn’t you go with Pei Ji to the Medicine King Valley that day? It’s really safe there. If you went back with him, you wouldn’t have to worry about Xian Wuming coming after you.”

　　An Jiu was stunned for a moment. She pressed her lips together and said, “But I didn’t want to drag him into danger. With his leg like that, he can barely protect himself. It would be really hard for him to protect me too. Besides…”

　　When she got to this point, she suddenly fell silent.

　　Lin Qingyan tilted her head. “Besides what?”

　　The girl in the red dress looked a little pale, like she had remembered something terrifying. She swallowed the rest of her words and casually said, “It’s nothing.”

　　Lin Qingyan didn’t think much of it. Right now, her heart was more worried about He Ziqing. She had only asked just now without really thinking.

　　Lin Qingyan left to send the letters. Unfortunately, An Jiu’s letter was too long. There’s a weight limit to what one carrier pigeon can carry, so Lin Qingyan had to summon several pigeons and send the letters out in batches.

　　While she was in the courtyard summoning the pigeons, she could hear the sharp sound of something cutting through the air from the backyard.

　　It was the sound of blades slicing through the wind, fast and fierce.

　　Ever since meeting You Qianhe, He Ziqing had become like this, training with his sword day and night without rest. He would wake up before sunrise and continue practicing even after they had all gone to sleep. The sound of his sword never stopped.

　　There used to be bushes and two small trees in the backyard, but He Ziqing’s relentless sword practice had completely destroyed everything. The trees had long been broken, the bushes had been uprooted, and the backyard was now just a barren wasteland. On normal days, An Jiu and Lin Qingyan didn’t even dare to go over there.

　　When Lin Qingyan came back from sending the letters, An Jiu noticed her face looked even worse than before. She could easily guess that during the short time Lin Qingyan was out, she must have heard the sounds from the backyard, which only made her mood sink further.

　　After thinking for a bit, An Jiu said, “If you ask me, I actually think there’s a pretty good chance that Brother He will win.”

　　Hearing that, the girl in green turned to her with hopeful eyes. “Really?”

　　An Jiu nodded firmly. “Yeah! Just think about it. You Qianhe is already really old, and did you hear their conversation that day? It was obvious that Senior You Qianhe really admired Brother He. He’s even Brother He’s grandmaster. Old people always hope the younger generation will do well. There’s no way he would seriously go all out against Brother He. And if he really didn’t want anyone to die, could he really lose control of his own sword?”

　　An Jiu felt like Lin Qingyan had gotten stuck in the wrong mindset. You Qianhe said that once his sword is drawn, someone would die, but he never said that the one who would die had to be He Ziqing.

　　Having read the original novel, An Jiu knew very well that this duel with the Sword Saint wasn’t some life-or-death test. In fact, it was actually a huge turning point for He Ziqing.

　　A Sword of Flying Frost was a martial arts novel written from the male lead He Ziqing’s perspective. Naturally, it was a typical overpowered-protagonist story.

　　Everything those unbeatable heroes usually have, He Ziqing had too.

　　He started out as an orphan, had a mysterious and powerful master, was born with insane talent, could win against stronger opponents, grew stronger with every defeat, and could even take on people way above his level. On top of that, he always attracted beautiful women who liked him, and kept getting those rare, once-in-a-lifetime lucky encounters that others could only dream of.

　　The whole Sword Saint storyline not only revealed the truth about the male lead’s background but also turned him from a nameless disciple into the Sword Saint’s heir, which pushed him into the spotlight and earned him massive respect in the martial arts world.

　　It also helped him inherit the Sword Saint’s legacy.

　　And most importantly, it pushed the romance between the male and female lead forward.

　　An Jiu remembered that in the novel, both He Ziqing and Lin Qingyan had no idea how the duel would turn out and were super pessimistic about it. With the constant fear of life and death hanging over them, their relationship finally made huge progress.

　　The night before the duel, Lin Qingyan actually confessed to He Ziqing, and the male lead finally figured out his feelings too. He promised that if he won, the two of them would officially be together.

　　Of course, He Ziqing ended up winning.

　　An Jiu thought back to when they left Wuyi Mountain not long ago, and she couldn’t help but feel a little emotional remembering You Qianhe’s ghost-like figure.

　　From what He Ziqing had said, Ruan Xinrou had passed away last year, and You Qianhe was like a man who had lost his soul. That once radiant old man with white hair and a youthful face had suddenly turned into someone truly on the verge of death, someone who had completely lost his will to live.

　　Even An Jiu could tell that You Qianhe had lost all meaning in life, that his reason for holding on was gone.

　　But He Ziqing and Lin Qingyan didn’t notice any of this.

　　They had no idea that the one who would die by You Qianhe’s sword wasn’t He Ziqing—it was You Qianhe himself.

　　Maybe, back then, You Qianhe did have feelings for Ruan Xinrou after all.

　　In his heart, though, he always believed that love would interfere with the sword path.

　　To help Ruan Xinrou stay focused on her swordsmanship, he was willing to live in seclusion for so many years. There was no way he would destroy her path just because of a bit of lingering affection in his heart.

　　When it came to the tangled feelings of this past generation's Sword Saint, all An Jiu could do was sigh.

　　After listening to An Jiu's clear, logical, and well-supported explanation, the dull look in Lin Qingyan’s eyes gradually brightened.

　　At first, she just wanted some comforting words, but she didn’t expect An Jiu to think so deeply about it and even make so much sense!

　　Lin Qingyan listened and began to genuinely believe that You Qianhe already had a death wish, and that he wouldn’t really make things hard for He Ziqing in the duel.

　　“An Jiu, how do you know all this?” She was pleasantly surprised but also curious. How did An Jiu know about You Qianhe and Ruan Xinrou’s story?

　　Fifty years had passed. No matter what happened back then, all those things had long been buried by time. Nowadays, all that remained of You Qianhe was his legendary title as the Sword Saint. No one knew much about his personal history anymore.

　　An Jiu lifted her chin proudly. “I have my own sources, you guys better not underestimate me.”

　　Lin Qingyan didn’t have time to ask further. She was overjoyed and quickly stood up, saying, “Thank you, An Jiu! I need to go tell Brother He about this. If he knows he can win, he won’t have to keep training like crazy every day.”

　　Watching him practice day and night these past few days had really made Lin Qingyan’s heart ache. She had been wishing he would take a proper break.

　　But An Jiu quickly grabbed her hand. “Are you crazy? You can’t tell him!”

　　Lin Qingyan was startled. “Why not?”

　　An Jiu said, “If you tell him, what if Brother He feels like it would be an unfair win? You know what kind of person he is. With his righteous and stubborn personality, it wouldn’t be surprising if he actually gave up the fight because of this.”

　　Hearing that, Lin Qingyan slowly moved her foot back inside and sat down again, suddenly realizing, “You’re right. Brother He really is that kind of person. I almost messed things up.”

　　She looked at An Jiu gratefully and sincerely said, “An Jiu, you’re really smart. Thanks for reminding me.”

　　An Jiu smiled and said playfully, “I actually have another idea that can help you figure out Brother He’s true feelings.”

　　Lin Qingyan was no longer as downcast as before. An Jiu’s words had genuinely comforted her. Her cheeks flushed, and even though she was embarrassed, she couldn’t help but lean closer and ask in a soft, mosquito-like voice, “What idea?”

　　An Jiu didn’t actually want to change the storyline. She had only comforted Lin Qingyan to ease her worries a little.

　　Of course, the main reason was that she didn’t want Pei Ji to come over.

　　It was better for Pei Ji to stay in the Medicine King Valley. The big challenge ahead was dealing with Xian Wuming.

　　If Pei Ji came to her side, it wouldn’t matter even if He Ziqing was right there watching. She would still be walking straight into the tiger’s mouth.

　　While the two girls were whispering quietly, on the other side, the carrier pigeons were flying over mountains and rivers, carrying the heavy letters toward the Medicine King Valley.

　　They hadn’t flown far before they were intercepted midway.

　　After years of dealings with the Zhùjiàn Villa, Pei Ji naturally recognized their carrier pigeons. He had already ordered people to keep an eye on the movements of the three people in that small courtyard. When Lin Qingyan summoned the pigeons, he immediately noticed what she was up to.

　　Now that he had intercepted the pigeons, he didn’t feel even a hint of guilt.

　　Before opening the letter, he already knew it would be a plea for help. It wasn’t because he could predict the future, but because he had lived through this moment in his previous life.

　　In his past life, Pei Ji didn’t go. At that time, he was in the Qiānshā Pavilion, absorbing the Bodhi Seed, so there was no way he could have gone.

　　Should he go this time?

　　As he thought about it, Pei Ji unfolded the letter, but what met his eyes was a line of handwriting he knew all too well.

　　It was An Jiu’s handwriting.

　　He had received many letters from An Jiu, always late at night.

　　But ever since she left Jinshe Town, she had rarely sent him any letters. Sometimes when he wrote to her, she couldn’t even be bothered to reply, the distance between them painfully obvious.

　　Pei Ji couldn’t even remember when the last letter was. Maybe it was not long ago, when they were at Wuyin Temple, and she had asked to meet him. Looking back now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

　　Pei Ji had understood then that once they tore off all pretenses, he would probably never receive another letter from her again.

　　He never expected another one to come so soon.

　　But unlike before, this letter was incredibly proper. It wasn’t like the ones she used to send, filled with clingy, intimate words, sometimes even writing shameless love confessions that made him frown and take a long pause before he could keep reading.

　　This time, she simply wrote some words of concern, then went on to talk about small daily things.

　　The letter was filled with casual chatter, things like how she went to a certain shop one day and the food there tasted awful, how the pills he gave her were too bitter and should be made sweeter next time, how there were mice chewing on the bed at night in the house she was staying in and it scared her so much she barely slept.

　　As he read, Pei Ji could almost picture the girl sitting right beside him, mumbling and grumbling her complaints.

　　There were five carrier pigeons standing in front of him. Pei Ji silently finished reading one letter, then untied another. It was also from An Jiu.

　　This one described some of her travel experiences, with such detailed descriptions that it felt like he was seeing the places himself, just from reading her endless chatter.

　　At the end of the letter, the girl wrote: “Don’t think I’m being kind by sharing this with you. I’m showing off, got it? You cripple, you probably can’t see any of this, huh?”

　　She even drew a weird, silly face right after.

　　Pei Ji didn’t say a word and quietly opened the next letter.

　　It was another one from An Jiu.

　　How did she have so much to say?

　　He went through all the letters like this. Except for the last pigeon, which carried a brief letter from Lin Qingyan, the rest were all from An Jiu, and all of them were filled with endless chatter.

　　The letters were spread out across the table. Pei Ji let the pigeons fly away.

　　Lin Qingyan’s letter was exactly the same as it was in his previous life, not a single word different. The only thing new was the four extra sheets, standing out clearly in front of him.

　　Pei Ji sat in silence for a long time, then finally gathered all the letters and placed them into his wooden letter box.

　　That box had a secret mechanism. Ordinary people couldn’t open it. Normally, it was used to store confidential documents.

　　But now, most of the things inside were just pages and pages of one person’s nonsense.

　　“Young Master, the news has spread throughout the martial world. Many people are heading this way,” a soft knock came at the door as Ah Qi bowed outside.

　　Dressed in white, Pei Ji’s expression remained calm as he said lightly, “I know. Ignore them.”

　　“Fei Chen is searching for information on the Qiānshā Pavilion. Should we send people to hunt him down?”

　　Pei Ji stayed indifferent, his tone steady. “No need. Let him search. We can use this chance to lead him to the Qiānshā Pavilion. I’ve been wanting to test the power of the mountain’s protective formation.”

　　The main base of the Qiānshā Pavilion was hidden deep in the mountains, and no one had ever discovered its location. It was because the place was protected by an intricate formation. Ordinary people who entered wouldn’t be able to find their way out. Even those who stumbled upon the pavilion’s location never made it back alive, which was how it remained hidden for so many years.

　　The formation was something Pei Ji acquired from the outside. It came from the legacy of the once-famous Qianji Pavilion.

　　Qianji Pavilion was renowned for its mechanical traps and formations. Every one of its disciples was an expert in mechanisms and deadly arrays, able to kill without being seen.

　　But for some unknown reason, the Qianji Pavilion was wiped out overnight over a hundred years ago and was never heard from again.

　　Rumor had it there was a traitor from within, but after so many years, no one could say if that was true.

　　By chance, Pei Ji came across the Qianji Pavilion’s legacy and built the Qiānshā Pavilion right on its ruins.

　　In his past life, he had imprisoned Lin Qingyan inside the Qiānshā Pavilion. He Ziqing had tried to break through the formation to rescue her, but he couldn’t figure out a way. In the end, He Ziqing got seriously injured and had to escape by force.

　　If Pei Ji hadn’t lost his mind later on, insisting on holding a grand wedding and inviting the entire martial world—including He Ziqing—if he had just stayed hidden inside the Qiānshā Pavilion, he might not have ended up with thousands of swords piercing his heart.

　　Come to think of it, it really did feel like that old saying: “When heaven wants to destroy someone, it first drives them mad.”

　　Now he wanted to see if that Buddha’s disciple from Wuyin Temple could actually find his way out of the Maze Formation.

　　But just as Fei Chen left, here came He Ziqing.

　　Pei Ji thought of the part in An Jiu’s letter where she had spent two whole pages talking about the entanglement between Sword Saint You Qianhe and He Ziqing, along with her constant worry for He Ziqing’s safety. His eyes couldn’t help but flash with a trace of cold light.

　　Especially since the girl had urgently pleaded for him to come, as if she was truly afraid something bad might happen to He Ziqing.

　　But when he thought about it more carefully, that faint stirring thought in his mind almost completely disappeared.

　　So what if he went? Sure, he could keep her within his sight, but the risk would also increase.

　　He hadn’t fully absorbed the Bodhi Seed yet, and even if he did, he still wouldn’t be able to properly hide his aura for the time being. Going now would only put him in danger.

　　With this in mind, Pei Ji finally gave up on the idea. He sent a letter back to Lin Qingyan, saying that he was feeling unwell and couldn’t come.

　　As for An Jiu, he didn’t reply to her at all.

　　It was several days later before that letter was sent out anyway, since in Lin Qingyan’s mind, Pei Ji had already returned to the Medicine King Valley in Shu County.

　　By this time, the number of martial artists gathering at Wuyi Mountain had grown significantly.

　　He Ziqing had personally declared that he wanted to fight You Qianhe to the death in front of the entire martial world, so it was no empty talk.

　　The day after he said it, he immediately asked some friends he had made while wandering the martial world to help spread the word.

　　Although He Ziqing wasn’t very famous yet, he did have a bit of a reputation. Back at Jinshe Villa, he had taught a lesson to several local bullies and playboys, and he had also gotten involved with Yu Hongyi and Lin Qingyan. The martial world always liked to keep an eye on beautiful women, and this incident made his name even more widely known.

　　But what really caught people’s attention was his fight with the Demon Mask during the Demonic Sect attack. Even though he was overpowered in the end, it still amazed many that a young man like him could exchange over a hundred moves with the Demon Mask.

　　To put it simply, He Ziqing now had enough presence in the martial world to finally be considered somewhat famous.

　　So when the news that He Ziqing wanted to challenge Sword Saint You Qianhe spread, it immediately caused a stir in the martial world.

　　It wasn’t just about the duel itself. The fact that You Qianhe was still alive was already shocking enough.

　　The whole martial world quickly moved into action. Countless martial artists rushed to Wuyi Mountain, all wanting to witness the duel with their own eyes.

　　The excitement wasn’t any less intense than when Jinshe Villa announced the release of a legendary martial arts manual.

　　Every day when An Jiu went out, she could feel the small town getting more and more crowded with martial artists passing through.

　　Soon, the entire town was practically overrun by people coming from all over the place. The local residents didn’t even dare to step outside, afraid they might accidentally offend some blade-carrying martial arts masters and end up with knives in their bellies.

　　Eventually, An Jiu stopped going out as well. Every time she stepped outside, she could hear people gossiping.

　　Lots of people were asking about He Ziqing, all curious to know who he was and what gave him the guts to challenge the Sword Saint.

　　People’s curiosity was always strong, and An Jiu was worried she might get recognized and someone would track them down.

　　Even though they were living in the town, He Ziqing hardly ever went out. He stayed in the backyard practicing his sword all day, so nothing had really happened so far.

　　As the days passed and the duel date got closer, the town grew even busier and the atmosphere even livelier.

　　At the same time, An Jiu could feel the tense mood inside their little courtyard.

　　Even though she had helped talk things through and Lin Qingyan felt much more at ease, she still couldn’t stop worrying.

　　Especially He Ziqing. Since he didn’t know how You Qianhe would approach this duel, he had been on high alert these past days.

　　His swordsmanship had already hit a bottleneck. No matter how hard he trained day after day, swinging his sword over and over again, the progress was painfully slow, and it weighed heavily on his heart.

　　The duel was tomorrow. For once, He Ziqing finally stopped. He no longer pushed himself like a machine that never tired, to the point of skipping meals just to keep practicing.

　　That evening, for the first time in a long while, the young swordsman finally appeared at the dinner table.

　　His face was a little pale, a result of exhausting himself from endless training over the past two weeks.

　　“Brother He, are you… are you alright?” Lin Qingyan looked at him with concern, her heart aching a little.

　　He Ziqing’s eyes seemed unfocused, as if lost in thought. It took him a while to come back to himself and glance blankly at Lin Qingyan.

　　Seeing the fear and faint tears in her eyes, along with her clearly thinner and more tired face, his exhausted mind went completely blank for a moment.

　　Right then, An Jiu spoke up at just the right time, “Brother He, Lin Qingyan’s been really worried about you these past few days.”

　　He Ziqing turned to look at An Jiu, still a bit dazed, “Worried about me?”

　　An Jiu smiled and said, “Yeah, every day when you’re out there practicing your sword, she’s always watching you from the side. She doesn’t dare to disturb you, but she’s afraid you’ll push yourself too hard.”

　　Lin Qingyan’s cheeks turned slightly red. She quickly lowered her head and mumbled, “Let’s eat, the food’s getting cold.”

　　He Ziqing slowly looked back at Lin Qingyan. Just then, An Jiu lowered her voice on purpose, though it was still loud enough for both of them to hear, and teased, “Brother He, you have to win. If you lose, I’m afraid Lin Qingyan will follow you to the afterlife…”

　　Before she could finish, Lin Qingyan stuffed a mouthful of food into An Jiu’s mouth to shut her up.

　　He Ziqing stared at the blue-clothed girl, unable to miss the blush spreading across her cheeks. He was frozen for a moment, then suddenly spoke firmly, “I will definitely win.”

　　You Qianhe always said, to practice swordsmanship, you must be emotionless. If you have feelings, you can’t truly walk the sword path.

　　But He Ziqing didn’t believe that. You Qianhe practiced the path of detachment, but He Ziqing wanted to walk the path of passion.

　　He had been practicing his sword all these days, but it felt like there was always something blocking his way. He didn’t know what it was, just vaguely felt that if he could break through it, he would reach a higher level.

　　He hadn’t known how to move forward, but in that moment, everything suddenly became clear.

　　If he wanted to walk the path of passion, then he had to have feelings, he had to have something worth protecting with his sword.

　　After his master’s death, he had been alone, with no attachments, so naturally, he couldn’t find that path.

　　But now, maybe he had finally found it.

　　“I won’t die. So, Miss Lin, don’t do anything foolish,” He Ziqing said seriously.

　　Lin Qingyan paused for a moment. “Don’t listen to An Jiu’s nonsense,” she said helplessly, then added after a slight pause, “I never planned to die with you.”

　　Watching the two of them quietly exchange glances, their ears slowly turning red, An Jiu couldn’t help but smile. Before they noticed, she quickly buried her head in her food, hiding her sense of accomplishment.

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